On 17^th October, we had the pleasure of co-hosting a Digital Futures workshop at The Bicester School with ARK Data Centres. Together, we ran sessions for Year 12 on CV writing and interview techniques.

The aim of the day was to give the students confidence that they could succeed in getting a job if they applied tomorrow, while also having a brief introduction to the world of data centres. 

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Who are ARK Data Centres? 

Ark Data Centres is a UK-based company specialising in secure and sustainable data centre solutions. Founded in 2005, Ark provides data centre services to government and enterprise clients, focusing on energy efficiency, resilience, and security.  

Ark’s mission is to empower businesses to work from anywhere in the world by designing and operating data centres which lead the market in social responsibility: “Our pioneering facilities leverage 100% renewable energy, optimum security, high availability and offer world-class sustainable scalability.”  earn a significant prize – a trip to Kenya to implement their solution. 

Why did Ark get involved in the Digital Futures Programme? 

“The data centre sector is one of the fastest growing industries in the World, underpinning the whole of the digital economy and all of its many applications from global transactions, every aspect of telecommunications and the internet in its entirety. And the industry is set for continued growth. There has been more data created in the last three years than in the whole of previous human history, according to recent research. 

The data centre sector relies on many skilled technicians,  from engineers to designers, all of whom are in very short supply in a rapidly growing and competitive market. Ark Data Centres, along with other data centre providers, recognise that we have a role in supporting the development of future engineers to keep up with demand. ALET are able to fuel the enthusiasm of young minds and deliver the education that supports the need for new talent, our partners in securing our own and the sector’s future.” 

Allan Bosley, Head of Culture at Ark Data Centres 

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The workshop 

This two-hour workshop was designed to give students practical, actionable advice on how they could best prepare for their next job opportunity. With a focus on CVs and interviews, the students were engaged with quizzes, interview role plays, and short tasks to ensure they made the most of their session. 

CV writing 

The first part of the workshop focused on CV writing. The students were given two versions of the same CV were and asked to decide which one they thought was better. They were then asked to give reasons for their answer, and suggest improvements to the exemplary CV. 

The students were able to identify mistakes and formatting errors in the poor CV, in addition to an unprofessional email address, lack of detail in personal statement, and use of informal language. 

The students were also given an example of a poor CV and asked to annotate mistakes made, spotting errors like a vague address, unprofessional font, confusing layout, and irrelevant hobbies and interests. 

This section of the workshop concluded with the students writing their own checklists of what to include in their CV. 

Judit: “I don’t have a CV yet, so I got lots of ideas on what to put in one and how to lay it out.” 

Maja: “Very useful information on how to structure a CV – and how to prepare for an interview and behave in it. It definitely makes me feel more confident.” 

Interview tips and techniques 

The latter section of the workshop focused on giving students the tools needed to ace a job interview. This section began with a quiz, over which the students got very competitive! Did you know that only 2% of candidates that apply for a job get an interview, and that it only takes 30 seconds for an interviewer to form a first impression? 

Following the quiz, the students were asked to brainstorm interview preparation for the month and day before the interview, before practising their handshakes with each other. 

Most crucially in this section of the workshop, students learnt how to answer interview questions in a complete yet concise way with the STAR technique – Situation, Task, Action, Result.  

This technique gives students a framework for answering difficult, open-ended questions such as:  

“Tell me about a time when you demonstrated leadership skills?”  

One example answer to this question using the technique would be:  

“I was working on a challenge day project brief, and one member of the team was not contributing (Situation). I needed to work in the team to develop my solution, ready to present back later in the day. The task was to Design a Data Centre (Task). As the project manager of the group, I took the opportunity to find out the students’ strengths and assign them a role that they could complete (Action). We were able to work effectively as a team and meet the deadline given by the employers. We were the winning team in our classroom (Result).” 

After practicing their own STAR answers, the students then interviewed each other and assessed their answers. 

To conclude the workshop, students shared some of their own career ambitions, in addition to what they learnt from the sessions.  Some of the career ambitions included investment banker, historian, air hostess, teacher, and barrister. 

Jess: “It’s been good, especially around what questions you should ask in an interview.” 

Emma: “I didn’t really know what was involved in an interview before, so it makes me feel more prepared.” 

Read more about other Digital Futures events at UTCs across the UK

UTC Reading Bridge-Building Challenge 

UTC Heathrow Sustainability Challenge Day  

UTC Oxfordshire Data Centre Challenge Day

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We thoroughly enjoyed working with Ark Data Centres to deliver this workshop and are proud of the impact it will have on the Year 12 students at The Bicester School.  

Learn more about the Digital Futures Programme 

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